Lakshya Sen finished his All England Open 2022 campaign as India’s youngest finalist in men’s singles. His chance of
becoming only the third Indian shuttler to win the prestigious title was ruined
by Viktor Axelsen Sunday. The 20-year-old Indian went down to the Dane Olympic
champion 21-10, 21-15 in 53 minutes in the summit clash.
Also Read: Who is Lakshya Sen?
Despite the defeat, Lakshya Sen won the
hearts of Indians for his fighting spirit and recent rapid rise in international
badminton.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi heaped praise
on Sen and expressed his confidence in his future endeavours.
“Proud of you @lakshya_sen! You’ve
shown remarkable grit and tenacity. You put up a spirited fight. Best wishes
for your future endeavours,” Modi tweeted. “I am confident you will
keep scaling new heights of success,” the prime minister said.
Also Read: Badminton: India’s Lakshya Sen loses prestigious tournament to Viktor Axelsen
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also hailed
his performance at the All England Open.
“You are second to none, @lakshya_sen.
You have won a billion hearts. Congratulations for a wonderful performance. You
have done India proud! My best wishes for your future endeavours,” Gandhi
tweeted.
From the sports fraternity legendary
cricketer Sachin Tendulkar said Sen made India proud by reaching the All
England final.
“You’ve made every Indian incredibly
proud by reaching the All-England Final, Lakshya Sen. We shall all be cheering
for you tonight!” tweeted Tendulkar.
Former hockey captain Viren Rasquinha,
meanwhile, tweeted: “So proud of you @lakshya_sen and the team. Coaches
Yoo Yong Sung, DK Sen and Physio Abdul. Have simply given it everything they
have got.”
Also Read: All England Open: Lakshya Sen makes history, beats Lee Zii Jia to reach final
Sen, who has been touring Europe alone and
without a coach, played the final of the German Open Super 300 tournament just
a week before and finished runner-up against Thailand’s Kunvlat Vidistran.
There he defeated Axelsen in the semifinal. But At the All England Open final as he became the
first Indian to reach the final in 20 years, Lakshya Sen failed to get better off the
experienced Axelsen. Sen might have given his best in the three-game semifinal
against Lee Zii Jia on Saturday.
After four days of sensational badminton,
the 20-year-old Sen faltered on the cusp of history as he committed too many
errors to go down 10-21 15-21 to former champion Axelsen in the summit clash.
In January this year, Sen won his maiden
Super 500 tournament when he won the India Open. In December, he won his maiden BWF World Championships medal, a bronze in Spain.
